Snag This: Super Size Me

I've been known to frequent certain fast food establishments far more than I should, to the extent that the employees recognize me and greet me warmly upon my return. So my guilty conscience prodded me to revisit Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me, which is available for free online viewing via our friends at SnagFilms. We've embedded it after the jump so you can view it right here at Cinematical.

SnagFilms is celebrating their one-year anniversary, and Super Size Me is currently the most popular title. Clearly it's not just guilty consciences that make the doc essential, and surprisingly enjoyable, viewing. Spurlock sets out to test the boundaries between personal and corporate responsibility, to see if eating every meal at McDonalds every day for 30 days would be dangerous to his health -- as one judge indicated would need to be proved if a lawsuit against the fast food giant could proceed. Spurlock establishes his baseline medical condition with three physicians, who anticipate that the diet may only affect him to a limited extent.

What starts off as "wish fulfillment of an eight-year-old child quickly turns to drudgery. A healthy man and a healthy eater, Spurlock finds no joy in his self-imposed diet, and has a tendency to be strident. Yet the medical risks are real, as is his concern about waking people up about the dangers of a fast food nation. Coincidentally (?!), McDonalds started to phase out super-sizing -- right about the time of the film's release. Super Size Me remains a vital document and a plea for the healthy, responsible consumption of food. It's funny, too!